Hooymans reveals all SYMPOSIUM
To mark the 25th corporate anniversary, Hooymans Compost from Kerkdriel organised a symposium for mushroom professionals on 5 Sep- tember. It was a well-attended event featuring excellent guest speakers. By John Peeters
T
he symposium was just the kick-off to a whole weekend dedicated to celebration. Hooy- mans hosted a huge party for
invited guests on Saturday, and held a busy open day on Sunday, “This is not something we normally do”, explained owner Jan Hooymans, “..but after 25 years we wanted to throw open our doors, offer our business relations a high-quality symposium, thank our cus- tomers with a fabulous party and give local residents a chance to look behind the scenes. Our neighbours have long associated us with nuisance, but thanks to our modern systems using gas scrub- bers and a biofilter that is luckily a thing of the past, and we want to show how. We are proud of this company, and want to reflect that pride.”
After a word of welcome from Hooy- mans, chairman Greg Seymour (AMGA, ISMS) opened the proceedings by stating that the Australian mushroom sector’s success is largely attributable to the fact that the stakeholders have formed a sol- id organisation, and even more so thanks its success to targeted, well- planned advertising and promotional campaigns. “There are three biological food kingdoms,” said Seymour, “ani- mals, plants and mushrooms. As a sec- tor, we must keep spreading the word, while at the same time expand our knowledge about mushroom growing. There are still too many unknown fac- tors, including compost-related ques- tions. That is our challenge. Let’s get ready to rumble!”
Straw and compost
First to speak was Ralph Noble, who cur- rently works at East Malling Research in
8 MUSHROOM BUSINESS “We are proud of
this company, and want to reflect that pride”
England, but has a long involvement in research into compost and nutrition. Noble’s lecture concerned raw materials used in compost production. “One of the key points to consider in composting is constancy and consistency, so you have to investigate whether a particular raw material needed for the process is avail- able all year round in the intended pro- duction region. Where was the straw grown, what is the prevailing climate in that region? These aspects can cause significant differences. There can be as much as up to 25% variance in the final mushroom yield on a batch of good straw, that has been stored correctly in dry conditions, and a batch of moderate quality, damp straw. Barely straw, for example, is often widely available, but its quality deteriorates quicker than wheat straw. You need the capability to
Guided tour, party and open day
The company was constructed in vari- ous stages and the latest develop- ments are mainly in phase I compost and the prevention and control of odour nuisance. Hooymans uses a system of bunker composting with a blend of horse manure, straw, broiler manure and gypsum. Following a brief pre-treatment two mixing lines and a total of 15 bunkers produce around
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